Readout apparatus

ABSTRACT

A pulse type readout apparatus for data registering machines, such as mechanical adding and calculating machines in which data is transferred from the machine to a suitable remotely controlled device in parallel fashion by pulse signals. Such signals are formed by switch contacts which are momentarily closed by gear teeth carried by denominationally arranged differential actuators of the machine. The switch contacts are selectively moved into and out of cooperative relation with the actuators.

United States Patent Berry 51 May 30, 1972 i 54] READOUT APPARATUS [72] Inventor: William A. Berry, Covina, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Addmaster Corporation, San Gabriel,

Calif.

[22] Filed: June 24, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 156,317

[52] US. Cl. ..235/6l PC, 235/60.4

[51] Int. (1 L ..G06c 29/00 [58] Field of Search ..235/61 PC, 61 P], 61 PK, 60.38, 235/60.4; 101/93 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,914,759 11/1959 Deighton et al ..235/61 PC 3,066,866 12/1962 Kittel et a1. ..236/61 PC 3,079,075 2/ 1963 Modersohn .l ..236/6l PC 3,086,700 4/ i963 Gustafson ..235/6l PC 3,132,582 5/1964 Clary ct al. ..235/60 P Primary Examiner-Stephen .l. Tomsky Anomey-Fred N. Schwend [57] ABSTRACT A pulse type readout apparatus for data registering machines, such as mechanical adding and calculating machines in which data is transferred from the machine to a suitable remotely controlled device in parallel fashion by pulse signals. Such signals are formed by switch contacts which are momentarily closed by gear teeth carried by denominationally arranged differential actuators of the machine. The switch contacts are selectively moved into and out of cooperative relation with the actuators.

5 Chins, 4 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 3,666,927

INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. 5:02)

BY/ZNA/ READOUT APPARATUS FIELD OF THE INVENTION- SUMMARY OF TH INVENTION A principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple and yet reliable apparatus for electrically transferring data from a mechanical data registering machine to a suitable pulse controlled device.

Another object of the invention is to transfer data from a mechanical data registering machine during normal functioning of the machine.

Another object of the'invention is totransfer data from a mechanical data registering machine in parallel-by-digit fashion. I

In accordance with the invention, the teeth of denominationally arranged geared actuators of the machine are utilized toactuate respective switch contacts located in circuit with a suitable remotely controlled device. The actuators are advanced different amounts in accordance with the value of the digits being registered by the machine and therefore a number of signal pulses are transferred in parallel to different signal pulse circuits, the number of such pulses depending upon the value of the registered digits.

Since in the great majority of mechanical calculating machines, the differential actuators transfer both factors and results of calculations between different operating units of the machine, such as the keyboard, accumulator and printer, the present invention is capable of transferring both factors and results to remotely controlled equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a portion of an addinglisting machine embodying a preferred form of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the controls for selectively enabling and disabling the data transferring device.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of FIG.- 1, illustrating part of the switch contact assembly.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged-view illustrating the relationship between the actuator teeth and related switch contacts.

' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT- The present invention is disclosed as embodied in the well known Addmaster adding-listing machine. However, for the sake of brevity, only those parts of themachine which comprise the .read-out mechanism and those parts which cooperate with themare disclosed in detail. Reference may be had to the following U.S. patents and pending patent application for disclosure of details of the machine not specifically shown herein;

R. E. Busch, U.S. Pat. No. 3,1 13,719, issued on 12/10/63;

H. L. Clary, U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,582, issued on 5/12/64;

B. F. Kuhne, U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,708, issued on 9/1/64; and

J. G. Clary, U.S. Pat. application, Ser. No. 16,316, filed on 3/4/70, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,777.

Although the invention is disclosed as embodied in an adding-listing machine, it should be understood that it could be equally well embodied in other forms of adding, calculating, cash registering and like machines.

Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a group of printing sectors or actuators, one of which is shown at 11.

Such actuators are pivotally supported in side-by-side relationship, independently ofeachother, on a support shaft 12.

Each actuator 11 is normally held in its illustrated zero or home position by a bail rod 13, and inv such position, a shoulder 14 on the actuator engages a detent bar 15. A series of type characters 16, ranging in value from zero to nine, are formed on the periphery of each actuator and cooperate with an aligned printing hammer 17 to transfer an imprint of a type character through a printing ribbon 18, onto a paper tape 20.

The tape is guided through a guide chute 21, under the ham mers 17, and upwardly between a transparent tear-off bar 22 and a guide wall 23.

Normally, in the home position of an actuator 11, the zero type character is located in printing position,

A pin carriage (not shown) containing a field of settable stop pins 24 is shiftable laterally of the machine to carry set ones of the stop pins into arresting positions relative to shoulders 25 formed on the various actuators 11. Such stop pins 24 are set radially inwardly of the actuators 1 1 by different ones of 10 depressible digit input keys (not shown).

A cycle of operation of the machine is initiated by depressing an appropriate control bar (not shown), and during such cycle a main shaft 26 is rotated clockwise through a complete revolution. During the first half of such cycle, the actuators are yieldably driven clockwise until arrested by set ones of the stop pins 24. Thereafter, the printing hammers 17 are advanced downwardly to effect printingon the tape 20 and later, during the latter half of the cycle, the actuators 1 1 are returned counterclockwise to their illustrated home positions. For this purpose, the bail rod 13 is moved clockwise about the shaft 12 by means (not shown) driven by the shaft 26 during the first half of the machine cycle and yieldably drives against shoulders 27 formedon yieldable tails- 28 integral with the actuators 11. After the printing operation, the bail rod 13 is returned counterclockwise to its home position and during such travel it engages shoulders 30 on the actuators l 1 to return the same to their home positions.

Each actuator 11 has a set of gear teeth 31 formed partly there around, which teeth are adapted to mesh with and drive associated gears, partly indicated at 32, which form part of an accumulator generally indicated at 33. In subtraction operations, the accumulator gears 32 are maintained in mesh with 1 positions and the accumulator gears are held in mesh with the gear teeth 31 during the first half of a machine cycle. Thus, the gears 32 are driven counterclockwise until arrested in their zero positions by total stop devices (not shown) to thus arrest the actuators.

It should be noted that the gear teeth 31 are'so spaced that each tooth will advance its associated accumulator gear 32 one digit.

According to the present invention, the teeth 31 of the acmatters are also employed to transfer signal pulses to a remotely controlled pulse utilization device (not shown). For this purpose, a switch assembly generally indicated at 35 is provided, comprising a bail 36 having arms, one of which is shown at 37, pivotally supported at 38 on spaced machine frame members, one of which is partly shown at 40.

The switch assembly 35 comprises a common contact member 41 of thin flexible metal supported by the bail 36 through insulating plate 42, 45 and 46 of plastic or the like. The contact member 41 has a plurality of yieldable upwardly extending fingers 44 aligned with the different actuators 11. The fingers 44 have their upper tips bent forwardly at right angles to form contacts. A series of wire contacts 43 are also carried by the bail 36 and are insulated from the bail and from the contact member by the plates 42 and 45, also of insulating material. The plates 42, 45 and 46 are attached to the bail 36 by rivets 47, thereby clamping the contact member 41 and wire contacts 43 in spaced relation to each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the wire contacts 43 is looped back upon itself at 48 and is electrically connected to a respective flexible conductor 50 forming part of the above noted signal circuit. The two legs 51 of each wire contact 43 extend upwardly (FIG. 4) to form contacts normally out of engagement with the aligned contact fingers 44.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper tips of the contact fingers 44 are normally in the path of the teeth 31 on the sectors 11. Thus, as the actuators are advanced clockwise during the first half of the machine cycle, the teeth 31 of each actuator will sequentially force each finger 44 into engagement with its respective wire contact 43 to close a respective circuit extending from a common flexible conductor 54, through the common contact member 41, wire contacts 43, and respective flexible conductors 50 and their respective circuits to the remote pulse controlled device. Since each' of the actuators advances a number of teeth equal to the decimal value of the corresponding digit being registered or totaled, a number of signal pulses will be transferred through each conductor 50 equal to the value of the digit registered or totaled by the corresponding actuator.

The switch assembly 35 is maintained in cooperative relation with the actuators 11 only during the forward or clockwise rotation of the actuators so that signal pulses will not be transmitted during return thereof. For this purpose, the bail arm 37 is connected by a pin and slot connection 55 to cam follower bail 56 pivoted at 57 and urged counterclockwise by a tension spring 58 to normally maintain a cam follower roller 60 in engagement with a cam 61 fastened to the main shaft 26.

Normally, when the actuators 11 are driven clockwise from their home positions during the first half of a machine cycle, the cam follower roller 60 engages a low dwell section 62 of the cam 61 to maintain the switch assembly 35 in its illustrated position in cooperative relation with the actuator teeth 31. After the actuators have been differentially advanced and the printing operation has occurred, a high dwell section 63 of the cam 61 engages the roller 60 and rocks the cam follower 56, and consequentially the switch assembly 35, counterclockwise sufficiently to remove the contact fingers 44 out of the paths of the teeth 31 of the various actuators.

Means are provided to selectively disable the switch assembly 35 from control by the actuator teeth 31. For this purpose, a manually settable lever 64 (FIG. 2) is pivotally supported at 65 and is connected through a pin and slot connection 66 with a latch member 67 fulcrummed at 68 and provided an ear 70 engageable with a camming lug 71 formed on the cam follower bail 56. The lever 64 extends above the cover (not shown) of the machine and when manually rearward to a dot dash line position 64a, it will swing the member 67 to move its gear 70 out of cooperative relation with the cam follower bail 56 so that the latter may be controlled solely by cam 61. However, when the lever 64 is moved to its illustrated full line position it will swing the member 67 clockwise, causing the car to cam over the lug 71, thus rocking the cam followerbail 56 slightly counterclockwise to a position wherein all of wire contacts 44 are located out of the paths of the teeth 31. Thus, no signals will be transferred during a cycle of the machine.

In order to hold the lever 64 in its illustrated full line position against the action of a tension spring 73, an ear 74 is formed on the lever and snaps into a notch 75 formed in a side frame member, a portion of which is shown at 76, whereby to lock the lever in place. When it is desired to rock the lever to its alternate position the latter is sprung laterally sufficiently to move the ear 74 from engagement with the notch 75, permitting rocking movement of the lever.

Although the cam 61 is illustrated with its low dwell section 62 opposite the cam follower roller 60 when the machine is in full cycle position it could equally well be formed so that the trailin rtion of the high dwell section 63 is opposite the roller at such time. In that case, the section 63would pass from under the roller 60 prior to appreciable clockwise movement of the actuators 1 1.

I claim: 1. In a cyclically operable data registering machine having toothed differentially operable actuators,

an accumulator including accumulator gears, means for meshing said gears with said actuators, cyclically operable means for moving said actuators to and from home positions,

and means for differentially arresting said actuators in different positions during said movement from said home positions,

the combination comprising a plurality of electrical circuits,

each of said circuits including a contact switch sequentially actuated by the teeth of a respective one of said actuatOIS.

2. The combination according to claim 1 comprising means controlled by said cyclically operable means for positioning said contact switches to be actuated by said teeth during movement of said actuators from said home positions and for positioning said contact switches out of the path of said teeth during movement of said actuators to said home positions.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said last mentioned means comprises a cam operable by said cyclically operable means and cam follower means controlled by said cam for positioning said contact switch.

4. The combination according to claim 2 comprising means for selectively enabling and disabling said last mentioned means.

5. The combination according to claim 3 comprising means for selectively moving said cam follower means into and out of cooperative relation with said cam. 

1. In a cyclically operable data registering machine having toothed differentially operable actuators, an accumulator including accumulator gears, means for meshing said gears with said actuators, cyclically operable means for moving said actuators to and from home positions, and means for differentially arresting said actuators in different positions during said movement from said home positions, the combination comprising a plurality of electrical circuits, each of said circuits including a contact switch sequentially actuated by the teeth of a respective one of said actuators.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 comprising means controlled by said cyclically operable means for positioning said contact switches to be actuated by said teeth during movement of said actuators from said home positions and for positioning said contact switches out of the path of said teeth during movement of said actuators to said home positions.
 3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said last mentioned means comprises a cam operable by said cyclically operable means and cam follower means controlled by said cam for positioning said contact switch.
 4. The combination according to claim 2 comprising means for selectively enabling and disabling said last mentioned means.
 5. The combination according to claim 3 comprising means for selectively moving said cam follower means into and out of cooperative relation with said cam. 